


All The Comfort You Need

by sinkhole



Series: Winter's Home [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Divergence, Enemies to Friends, M/M, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Pre-Relationship, Tony Stark Lives, fluff adjacent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:54:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25827016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinkhole/pseuds/sinkhole
Summary: Tony survives the battle with Thanos. A few years later, a chance encounter puts him in the path of the former Winter Soldier, who had disappeared and was wanted for questioning.orTony is unintentionally a terrible host.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Series: Winter's Home [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2016086
Comments: 26
Kudos: 188





	1. Mi Cabina et su Cabina

It was July and the sun baking his skin through the windshield caused Tony to drive leaning slightly to the right in order to try and avoid it as he inched his car towards an offramp. Construction had turned this stretch of the I90 west into a parking lot and a detour through the suburbs of Buffalo looked like the way to go, according to FRIDAY’S calculations.

He’d gone for a long overdue visit with an elderly former professor of his and his wife who lived in Rochester and then afterwards, dropped off a painting at the Albright Knox since he was in the area. They were doing a retrospective of a particular artist and had contacted him; he owned a seminal work, apparently. Pepper had acquired it for him. The staff had seemed rather shocked to find it had been transported in the back seat of his car, unprotected and looking as though it had been tossed there. This wasn’t exactly untrue.

Once he was off the highway, the detour took him through the outskirts of Buffalo and past Cheektowaga, through bleak industrial parks with enormous and empty lots, streets lined with drive through fast food restaurants, grass pushing up through crumbling pavement everywhere and tar snakes, sticky in the heat, patching up the faded asphalt.

He stopped for the light at an intersection that had an Arby’s, Amy’s Nails and Tanning Hut, Active Surplus and a Dollar General.

Nobody was out in the heat so it stood to reason that Tony would look over when he saw someone exit the army surplus store. It also stood to reason that the person exiting the army surplus store couldn’t avoid looking at who was driving the dickishly bright yellow concept Audi.

Tony immediately recognized James Barnes, just as Barnes recognized him as their eyes locked onto each other. Barnes looked like he’d wanted to bolt for a moment but that was quickly followed by a visible exhale as he briefly flicked his eyes skyward. There was no way either of them could get out of acknowledging they’d seen the other. Barnes then adopted a blank expression and nodded once at Tony from where he remained near the entrance to the store.

Tony slowly returned the nod. He had no idea what he was going to do. Part of him wanted to keep driving and ignore the chance encounter with a man he didn’t care to think about. On the other hand, Barnes was wanted for questioning, he knew that much.

He hadn’t personally seen Barnes since Siberia but knew he’d received rehabilitation treatment in Wakanda before being snapped out of existence. During the many months of his own rehab after the final battle with Thanos, he’d seen the news rehashed over and over. About Rogers opting out of the present after returning the stones to their proper time, The Falcon taking up the shield and the Winter Soldier, looking like Bucky Barnes used to, helping. But then he’d been in the wind. Occasional reports of property destruction that could be linked to remnants of Hydra surfaced and Barnes was always a person of interest wanted for questioning but there was no evidence he’d had anything to do with it. Not that anyone could find him to ask.

Tony wasn’t in any official position to bring Barnes in, not anymore, but he thought he should probably try and make an effort to discover his current intentions. More for his own sake, to keep his nose clean so to speak, than from worry that Barnes was going to go on a homicidal rampage.

He pointed to the side street and hoped that would convey he was going to pull over. He half expected Barnes would take the opportunity to disappear and that would be fine. He’d have tried. When he parked the car and got out however, he was still there and making his way over.

Barnes looked a lot like the first time he’d met him, after the Vienna bombing. He’d grown his hair out again and looked slightly disheveled and was wearing far too many clothes for the temperature. He had on a large rucksack and was carrying a bulky plastic bag, presumably from the surplus store. They stood a few feet from each other, awkwardly having nothing to say for a moment. Tony could see the tension in the way Barnes held himself, looking like he was a hair from pulling a runner, although his expression gave nothing away.

“Hey, long time no see,” he tried.

“Yeah,” Barnes said, his voice surprisingly soft in contrast to his appearance. “I’m really sorry about the last time. All the times.”

He sounded sincere enough that Tony found himself following suit. “Yeah, sorry I tried to kill you,” he acknowledged. “Feels long ago,” he said, shifting to lean against his car figuring he’d look more relaxed and less threatening, not that he imagined he could look threatening to someone like Barnes. “What are you doing now?”

“Nothing much. Needed new boots.”

“Where you living these days? Here?”

“Uh, I don’t… I’m travelling. Mostly.” Barnes frowned, looking either like he’d lost patience with the conversation already or was confused about its purpose. “So, are you going to arrest me or shoot me?”

“Are you going to give me reason to?”

Barnes gave him an unimpressed look that said he wasn’t going to entertain Tony deliberately misunderstanding him. “You know what I’m talking about.”

“I don’t know anything that might lead to your arrest and I’d rather keep it that way, to be honest. And the other thing, like I said, was a long time ago.”

Tony had needed to get past the events in Siberia in order to heal, he’d known that, and time had certainly helped. The world almost ending and nearly losing his life had also helped put things into perspective, as had reviewing Barnes’ files related to his captivity and torture under Hydra. He’d spent months in the hospital after wielding the Infinity Stones and defeating Thanos. Extremis had saved him, barely. He’d been so overpowered by the stones that the nanites in his system had been all but wiped out, only able to regenerate his body enough to keep him alive. Months of surgery and treatments with Helen Cho’s Regeneration Cradle got him to a place where he could lead a mostly normal life but his super hero days were over. He could no longer form the Iron Man armor with Extremis and had to use the older physical suits and only for occasional personal use. He tired easily these days. He was fine with that and spent his time on the projects he loved instead, just grateful if not surprised, to still be alive.

“I’m not angry. Not anymore. It’s just something that happened now.”

Barnes nodded, eyes downcast.

He’d definitely been angry. Back in that bunker he’d gone nuclear with rage when he found out the Winter Soldier had murdered his parents and that Rogers had known and kept it from him. He’d directed all his anger at Barnes and honest to God, thinks he would have killed him had Rogers not intervened. It wouldn’t have been something he could’ve lived with easily, after. So, in a way, he was grateful to Rogers. Rogers who’d been stuck between a lie and two friends, trying to make it out of there with all of them unharmed until the fight got ugly and personal and then there’d been nothing left to salvage.

In time, Tony had accepted that he’d outlived his usefulness in his friendship with Rogers and it somehow then seemed less about his failings. He was just disappointed with himself for ever thinking Rogers a friend.

“You see Rogers often?” Tony surprised himself. He told himself he didn’t care how he was doing yet here he was, asking.

“No. Went to visit him at the rest home a couple times. We had nothing to talk about except when we were kids or the war. I don’t remember half of that still and I think he doesn’t now either. He got to live his life. I’m happy for him.”

“Huh.” Somehow this reality was very different from the script Tony had imagined for Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes but it made sense in light of all that had happened and Steve’s decision to go to Peggy when he got the opportunity via the Infinity Stones. Still, it seemed surprising for Rogers to go to such lengths to save his best friend and then leave him but he didn’t know their dynamic except how they were portrayed in the history books. He supposed that Rogers saving him might have been enough. It had certainly been a lot.

The thought of him doddering around a rest home and losing his memories however, was just inappropriately funny and Tony had to fight the lip twitch that threatened to give his thoughts away. “So, where are you going now?”

Barnes looked at him as though considering what kind of an answer to give him. He’d been pretty vague so far. “Thought I’d go stay in the woods for a bit. New York is great. It is, but it can be a lot,” he admitted.

“In the woods,” Tony said flatly. “Like camping? In a tent?” The horror must have been evident in his rising voice, enough that it made Barnes break what seemed his default blank expression and give him a lopsided smile.

“Yeah Stark. In a tent.” He lifted the shopping bag he carried from the surplus store as evidence of his intentions.

Tony had no idea why he did what he did next. He was impulsive though, he knew that and he certainly lived up to expectations.

“I have a private cabin not too far from here. No one around for miles. Stay there.”

Barnes just stared at him. “Why?”

“Why not? It’s empty. You’d be doing me a favour, keeping an eye on it.”

Barnes rolled his eyes. “I’m sure your security is pretty good. Just say it straight. You want to keep an eye on me.”

“No,” Tony replied honestly. “If you want to go then go, I won’t stop you. It’s just that I have a place that sounds like what you’re looking for and there’s no surveillance there. And, contrary to some opinions, I like to share.”

Barnes frowned at him and shook his head as though his world view had just been upended. “It would make more sense if you had me arrested or put a bullet in my head.”

“I like to defy expectations?”

Barnes stood there looking conflicted. It wasn’t a hard no so Tony took that as a yes. “C’mon, get in the car,” he said walking back to the driver’s side door. “Anything else you need to get?”

Tony got in and waited. He didn’t really believe Barnes would take him up on the offer but at the same time, he’d be disappointed if his olive branch was refused. He didn’t know why, and would examine it later, maybe with the gentle guidance of his very persistent therapist, but he wanted to help. Not that Barnes necessarily needed help. It was more that his story, their combined story, was mired in so much tragedy. He thought maybe, if he had an opportunity to change the note it had ended on, to not leave it there with Barnes expecting a bullet in his head, then maybe he would take it.

Presently Barnes came to the passenger door and opened it, leaning down to talk to Tony. Tony was expecting him to say _thanks but no thanks_ but instead he got something else. “You want my bags in the trunk?”

“No! There are squish sensitive baked goods back there made by a lovely octogenarian babushka. Back seat,” Tony said, indicating with his thumb for emphasis.

Barnes complied and was soon buckling up while checking out the interior of the car.

“It’s a collab between SI and Audi,” Tony explained. “We’re working on green energy initiatives. I’m just trialing it for a few weeks to get data. By the way, Fri, meet Sergeant Barnes. Barnes, meet FRIDAY, my AI, my assistant, my sweet sassy baby.”

“ _It’s a pleasure to meet you Sergeant Barnes_ ,” FRIDAY said.

Barnes looked momentarily startled to be addressed by someone else but recovered quickly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too FRIDAY. Drop the Sergeant though. Just James or Bucky or Barnes. Please.”

“… _Very well Mr. Bucky_ ,” Friday replied after a pause, causing Tony to snort with laughter.

“I have no idea why she’s like that, honest Mr. Bucky,” Tony said, feeling every bit the indulgent parent.

Barnes just huffed out a breath but Tony could see the ghost of a smile which in turn made him smile.

He bypassed the delay and got back on the I90. When Tony had said the cabin wasn’t too far, he meant it was a 3 hour drive before the turnoff but Barnes didn’t say anything about it. Tony wondered if he wasn’t just as determined to accept that olive branch.

They exited the interstate and stopped for food at a strip mall in Utica. In between BJ’s Tractor Supply and Wingstop Takeout was Rocky’s Italian Sausage, a place FRIDAY informed him had favourable reviews. Tony was impressed watching Barnes put back three sausages, even though he only ate the bun from one of them but then made up for it with a veal sandwich. He also didn’t object to dessert when Tony dug into the pastry box in the trunk and brought out several Polish donuts. They made a mess of themselves with powdered sugar, crumbs, apple and plum butter filling while standing in the parking lot eating by the trunk, but the donuts were out of this world and worth the indignity of sugar mustaches.

They headed north east, taking progressively smaller roads and it wasn’t long before the occasional sign advertising local businesses was the only thing to see besides trees and utility poles. Tony turned off the road at an unmarked driveway and followed that for a while, twisting and turning through a small forest as the early evening light bathed the area in dappled shadows. The cabin came into view eventually and Tony parked on the gravel pad next to it.

Barnes got out and after looking around, looked back at Tony with a raised eyebrow. “I think our definitions of ‘cabin’ differ. And there’s a lake.”

“I’m a billionaire?” Tony said in his defense. “It’s rustic?”

Barnes shot him a look as he went to the passenger door to get his bags.

“People aren’t usually disappointed when things are nicer than they expected, you know. You might need to re-evaluate your attitude,” Tony suggested.

They made it inside after Tony had Barnes pick a 10 digit security code he’d remember. The place wasn’t big, just two bedrooms on the second floor, but it was comfortable with an open layout and large, overstuffed furniture in a rustic-modern style.

“It’s just. It’s too nice,” Barnes said, continuing his earlier thought.

“What, you need to be uncomfortable to feel comfortable? That’s definitely a you problem. And the best part now is you get to work through that.”

Barnes looked at him reproachfully which Tony mostly ignored. “You can always pitch your tent outside and sleep in it, jeeze.”

After touring the cabin, Tony showed him the garage which was really a wood and metal shop with all the most useful tools. There was a separate shed with a canoe and kayak and it was at this point that he decided he’d take his whirlwind energy and leave as Barnes had started to get too quiet and he didn’t want to overwhelm the man.

“So, like I said, help yourself to anything. Service can be spotty here but there’s also satellite. The password is inside the breaker panel. Call me anytime. Wait, give me your number.”

They exchanged numbers and Tony headed to the car. “I have to be back for a meeting tomorrow morning so I’m going to head out now. Stay as long as you like, truly. My cabin is your cabin.”

Tony couldn’t help but grin later when he thought of Barnes standing in the driveway, looking a little shellshocked as Tony took his leave. It wasn’t fully dusk yet but the shadows falling over the parking area worked in his favour when he flipped the switch to send a current through the electroluminescent paint job. The Audi people had gone to town on an animating Tron-like scheme that bathed the surrounding area in yellow light, just in case his ride hadn’t been obnoxious enough before.


	2. Pergola Prime

Tony figured he’d give it several days before he called to check on Barnes. He didn’t want it to seem as though he didn’t trust him to take care of himself or the place. For all he knew, Barnes had escaped the rustic fanciness that first day and run for the hills.

It turned out that Barnes called him first.

“Where do you get food here? I mapped the closest store at 35 miles,” Barnes asked after they got the awkward greetings out of the way.

“…”

“Stark?”

“Uh. I _may_ have forgotten about this one weird thing that people seem to need known as food.”

“I’m not expecting you to feed me.”

“Yeah, ok but it’s not survival camp. I invited you to stay and it’s my responsibility.” Tony _almost_ thought he couldn’t believe he’d fucked that up but then corrected himself. He was absolutely capable of forgetting about food. His adult life was littered with examples of him failing to remember that eating was a necessary biological function. He just hoped Barnes didn’t think he’d done it on purpose in an act of passive aggressive revenge. “What _have_ you been eating?” he asked, his voice a little higher than he’d intended.

“Um, there’s fish in the lake. And I caught a rabbit. There were protein bars in your pantry. I’m not helpless, just want to know where the store is.”

“… You’ve been living off the local fauna,” Tony said dumbly. He was going to nominate himself for the worst host ever award. Of all the people whom he could be starving unintentionally, it had to be Barnes, what with their new and shaky truce or whatever this was. “Ok.” Tony said, pinching the bridge of his nose and thinking his way out of this. “Any allergies? I’ll have food delivered. No, I can do better. I’ll deliver the food. Otherwise you won’t get it until tomorrow.”

“Stark, it’s fine.”

“No, I need to fix this. I’ve been told I overcompensate. You’ll just have to deal with it.”

“Nothing needs to be fixed. You’re not gonna tell me where the store is are ya?”

“FRIDAY? I’ll need 2 weeks worth of groceries delivered tomorrow. We’ll adjust future orders based on what Barnes likes. But for now, I’ll need enough for today and tomorrow, ready for pick up in about 40 minutes.”

“ _Yes boss. There’s a Wegman’s 42 miles from Lakehouse_.”

“Perfect. Make both orders supersoldier sized and I’ll need my suit ready in 10.”

“ _You got it boss_.”

“Thanks baby girl.”

“I regret asking but thank you,” Barnes said.

“Yup, see you in about an hour.”

“If you’re staying for dinner, I’ve got squirrel on.”

“What.”

“Just kidding. There’s a couple protein bars left and about 20 lbs of freeze dried coffee we can have. Maybe more,” Bucky said, amusement coloring his voice.

“I have coffee insecurity ok?” Tony replied, mock defensively. “Coffee hoarding is a very serious disorder and you might need some sensitivity training.”

Barnes hummed noncommittally at the other end of the line.

“Look, I’ll just grab some take out,” Tony huffed. “Squirrel…”

“Fri, if there’s anything still around that was made in the 30s and 40s, add it to the list,” Tony asked once he’d finished his call with Barnes.

He touched down in his Iron Man suit about an hour later laden with groceries and a couple of pizza boxes in an insulated bag. Barnes held the door open for him as he clomped in and set everything down on the kitchen island.

“Hope you like pizza?” Tony asked.

“‘Course. I can just pick off anything weird.”

“What counts as weird?” Tony wondered if he was saying that as someone who was used to traditional New York style pizzas with almost nothing on them. He probably should have checked but he’d thought a pepperoni and a deluxe would be fine, especially after having watched Barnes work his way through the menu at Rocky's Italian Sausage.

“Potatoes? Salad greens? Not that I don’t like those on their own.”

Tony grimaced at the thought. “Yeah ok, no argument here. Whoever put that on your pizza was not your friend.”

Barnes looked different. Sure, his hair was brushed and his scruff was trimmed and his clothes looked a lot cleaner but the thing that changed his appearance the most was that he looked relaxed. Last time he’d been radiating tension, his body a taught spring ready for fight or flight and his expressions had alternated between blank, scowl and frown. Now that the scowl lines were erased from his face, he couldn’t look more different. He was leaning against the counter, barefoot and at ease in drawstring sweat shorts and a cut off tee, talking to Tony as though they didn’t have a history of mutual murder attempts. Tony wondered how often he’d gotten to just rest without having to look over his shoulder or focus on a mission. In Wakanda maybe. He felt some satisfaction that he’d had something to do with Barnes’ current state. It was a good look on him.

They ate their pizzas standing at the island, Tony not bothering to get out of his suit except for his hands and face. It turned out they were both really hungry.

Barnes started taking the groceries out of the bags and stilled when he pulled out a box of Ritz crackers, his eyes unfocussed as though lost in thought.

“Those ok?” Tony finally asked.

“We had these at home. Can’t believe they still make them,” Barnes said, putting the box down. “Was just trying to remember the song they used in the radio ads.”

Tony started humming Puttin’ on the Ritz because why not. He didn’t know the words apart from the chorus but it didn’t seem to matter.

“That’s the one,” Barnes said, smiling for the first time and Tony congratulated himself for having something to do with that too.

When he got home later, there was a text from Barnes that simply said _‘thank you.’_

Tony found he was warmed by it. Barnes seemed appreciative of Tony’s gestures or at least, he was more polite than Tony had been used to from his cohort.

About a week later he got another call from Barnes.

“I was wondering if I could use your shop, for something to do. I think you’re good for firewood now. For a few years.”

Tony chuckled as he pictured a massive pile of split logs ready for the fire. In July. “Already said you could. Go for it. You know how to use all the tools?”

“Yeah. Doesn’t look like they’ve changed too much and I knew my way around most of them. There’s always YouTube for any I haven’t used.” Barnes paused and Tony could hear what sounded like the shuffling of paper. “I found some plans and materials in the shop and was wondering if you wanted it built? The pergola.”

“Oh.” Tony had designed that for his and Pepper’s wedding. He’d thought it would be nice to say their vows in it, covered in flowering vines and right down by the lake. Turns out it wasn’t needed. Tony and Pepper had taken a very long break and decided to keep it that way and he’d shelved the plans and any notions of romantic structures on his property. “Is the wood still good? Didn’t it warp?” It had been years.

“Yeah, it all looks fine to me. I can plane anything that isn’t. Gotta ask though. I noticed the measurements. They’re only prime numbers? And I don’t know the name for it but I’m pretty sure the lattice pattern follows some mathematical formula.”

What could he say? Tony was always looking for ways to amuse or challenge himself, not that he expected anyone to pick up on that. “Oh, yeah that’s a simple recursive algorithm to get the initial patterns and then I used a parity threshold and can I say that’s hot of you to notice? Does that make things awkward?”

“Thought it was hot of you to design it that way,” Barnes replied easily, sounding amused.

And then there was an awkward pause anyway which Tony quickly filled with assurances that Barnes could go ahead and build it. Build whatever he wanted. After the call, he sat there wondering how unhealthy it would be if he admitted to himself that he thought Barnes was actually hot. It had to be all kinds of fucked up.

He was still there in early August and Tony found himself thinking he might be disappointed if Barnes were to leave anytime soon. This time it was Tony who called to check in and Barnes invited him to drop by when he was free; he had something to show him.

He drove there a few days later and found Barnes outside in the heat and sun, shirtless, in just his jeans and boots, up on a ladder painting some window trim.

He climbed down and wiped at the sweat on his face with the back of his flesh arm as he came towards Tony. “It was flaking and I found extra of the paint in the garage,” he said before Tony could ask.

“I’m sure I pay people to do that but thank you.”

Barnes shrugged. “Needed doing. I finished the pergola. Wanna see it?”

“Yeah,” Tony said, suddenly sidetracked by everything in front of him now that he had a moment to take it in. Barnes’ body was approaching ridiculous amounts of perfection. His abs and obliques, highlighted by a slight sheen of sweat, looked as though they were formed from steel and his arms… Holy moly. The metal one especially; he hadn’t fully seen the Wakandan version yet and was unable to look away for its beauty. Sleek black plates, underlaid with gold detailing, copied the contours and musculature of his flesh arm perfectly and while Tony was watching, Barnes crossed his arms over his chest and the plates of the metal one fluttered open slightly and adjusted position before smoothing out again. The arm was a work of art both in terms design and of technical and mechanical ingenuity.

He hoped he wasn’t being creepy, staring too long, and chanced a look at Barnes’ face. He mainly looked bemused, one brow arched as he stared back.

“It’s over there,” he said, tilting his head unhelpfully towards the lake as if Tony didn’t know.

He turned around and berated himself for being creepy all the way down the slope and through the trees. Until he saw the pergola.

It was one thing to design something on paper and another to physically see it, in situ. It was one of his favourite parts of R&D, when something turned out well. The pergola looked like it belonged there, like it had always been there. Coming closer he appreciated that the red cedar posts framed the view of the lake from within, picture perfect. There were numerous flowering vines being trained to twine around them that would eventually reach the overhead beams if they grew tall enough. It explained one of the grocery orders that had included multiple pots of red trumpet vines, not that Tony liked to look at what Barnes ordered because that would probably be creepy. But who wouldn’t want to know what a man born in 1917 would order in 2026?

It was beautiful. Tony went up to it and wrapped an arm around one of the posts. Solid. And Barnes had made it. “It’s perfect,” he said as Barnes looked on, having trailed him there.

“Yeah? It’s like what you had in mind?”

“Better,” Tony beamed.

Later, after eating bbq’d chicken, soft buttered rolls and salad which Tony enjoyed despite Barnes excusing the simple dinner he'd made as lack of experience to cook anything but basic meals, they sat on the porch and watched the sun set fire to the sky as it slowly dipped behind the line of trees across the lake. Tony felt relaxed in a way he hadn’t for so long and wasn’t in a big hurry to leave. It was something he rarely could enjoy, just being in the moment with few cares. There was always something to distract him or attend to back in the city. He was so relaxed in fact that he zoned out for a while and it was near twilight, the air cool against his skin, when Barnes spoke.

“Seems late to drive back. You need to be there for a meeting in the morning?”

“No, actually. But I didn’t bring anything with me to stay the night.”

“Everything’s here. You can borrow my clothes.”

Tony considered it. He didn’t really feel like doing a 4 hour drive at this point and he didn’t have anything on for the next day so why not? It might be nice to actually spend some time at his cabin. He had wanted it to be his respite; a place to stay and potentially live that was a tonic to city life. He’d pretty much abandoned it after things with Pepper hadn’t worked out but he still liked the idea of being here. He just needed a reason to be.

“Sure. Ok,” he agreed. “In that case, want a cigar? I have some good ones in the car from a thing I went to yesterday.”

“Yeah, I’ll take one,” Barnes said with interest. “Pretty sure my last one was during the war.”

“We will right that wrong,” Tony exclaimed, slapping his knees before getting up and going to fetch them and then entering the cabin to find a lighter and cutter in one of the kitchen drawers.

Soon, they were savouring the taste of Cohiba Spectres. Tony looked over to ask Barnes how he liked it and instead got stuck watching him again.

He’d leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes which served to invite scrutiny of his excessively long and dark eyelashes, emphasized by his relatively pale skin. Tony supposed it was the serum that kept Barnes from sunburns and tans.

He looked so relaxed sitting there, legs open comfortably wide and his feet bare again. He’d cleaned up for dinner and had put on a t-shirt and was wearing different jeans and smelled faintly of soap - Tony was finding his old-timey manners really charming. He sat to Tony’s right and his metal arm was on full display, resting on the arm of his chair. That was one thing and it was already enough to cause an alarming increase to his heart rate, but watching Barnes smoke a cigar was something else entirely. Tony watched as though spellbound as Barnes brought the cigar to his mouth and formed a seal around it with his lips, taking a long, slow drag as his stubble covered cheeks hollowed out and then, after savouring the smoke for a while, he opened his mouth and let it lazily curl there before blowing it out softly.

He forced himself to turn away before he was caught looking like a lecherous old man and either died from shame or from exposure to all that.

He felt like what he needed to do was get his head on straight. Any rational person would tell him that being attracted to that man with his history, with their history, was completely inappropriate. Reckless. Which sounded exactly true to character, unfortunately.

Barnes was sharp and would probably pick up on it and he couldn’t let that happen. He didn’t want Barnes to feel he had to put up with unwanted attention in order to continue staying at the cabin.

“I need to get a driver’s license,” Barnes said suddenly, breaking into Tony’s thoughts and startling him.

He rallied quickly. “You don’t have one?” Seemed to be one of those skills every assassin would have.

“There was some bureaucracy with my citizenship status and my age. Took a while but it’s done. I can drive, just need the license so I can get a car.”

Now that he said it, Tony did recall hearing about The Soldier’s status troubles once he was pardoned. Russia had claimed him as a citizen and wanted to repatriate him and two other countries who had not signed the accords wanted him extradited to face criminal charges. Then the US election and regime change had put all diplomatic negotiations on the backburner for a while.

“Someone will probably come looking for you once you’re in the system. You’re ok with going in to answer some questions?”

“Can’t hide forever,” Barnes shrugged. “Not if I want some kind of life.”

Despite his earlier claim to not want to know, turns out he was curious. “Expecting any legal trouble?”

“Not sure. Maybe,” Barnes replied, lifting an eyebrow in question before he went further. At Tony’s nod he continued. “I didn’t wait for permission. Mission approvals from the council for anything Hydra related were slow. I was gonna do what I was gonna do and didn’t want Wilson to look bad is why I left but nobody seemed too unhappy with the results. They didn’t try too hard to bring me in.”

“That sounds like my line,” Tony grinned. “In my experience you let them spin the story to save face and have an address they can reach you at and it’s usually fine. If you need legal help though, I have a good team on retainer. What about your pension? Did that get sorted out? I remember hearing about that along with your citizenship troubles.”

“Not yet. Was told it might be a while.”

“OK, that’s shameful. It’s already been a while. I’ll have the team look into that too,” Tony said although he looked to Barnes for permission.

He nodded. “I’d appreciate the help. Don’t think waiting is getting me anywhere and that’s the advice I got from the lawyer I spoke to.”

“Sure. I’ll keep you posted. As for the road test,” Tony continued breezily, “I’ll take you there and you can use the car. Had to give back the Audi though, sorry,” he smirked.

“Shame,” Barnes replied with a straight face, before taking another drag off his cigar.

Barnes maybe didn’t say too much and he certainly wasn’t the outgoing, larger-than-life character Bucky Barnes was portrayed to be in the history books but Tony really appreciated his dry, understated humour and delivery.

“Fri, see that Barnes gets the latest driver’s manual. And set up an appointment once he’s ready, that works with my schedule,” Tony said, speaking to his watch.

_“Will Mr. Bucky be taking the written and road test at the Hamilton County DMV? It’s the closest location and appointment wait times are low.”_

“Makes sense?” Tony turned to Barnes for confirmation and got it.

“I need to get a job. Start paying rent, if you don’t mind me staying longer, that is.”

“At this point it would be weird if you weren’t around,” Tony said casually while experiencing an unsettling mix of relief and pleasure that Barnes was staying. “And you don’t need to pay rent. I don’t need the money.”

Barnes frowned. “It’s important,” he stressed. “I’m not gonna be one of those people who takes advantage, even if you’re loaded. I pay my own way.”

Tony held up his hands in surrender. Barnes had already given him an envelope stuffed with cash to repay the groceries he’d been ordering through FRIDAY, so this wasn’t a surprise. Even though it was totally unnecessary, he appreciated the thought. Most people accepted his generosity with less resistance, not that he blamed them. “Whatever you think is fair rent then. But subtract all the maintenance you do plus security and landscaping if you don’t mind trimming the hedges.” Tony told him how much he'd been paying for those services and watched his jaw drop.

“See? I should be paying _you_ and anyway, I like to do things for my friends. Doesn’t everyone? It’s just my resources are on a larger scale.”

That seemed to stump Barnes for a while and he continued to work on his cigar in silence. Eventually he seemed to come to a decision and nodded once to himself before looking over. “All right then. Thank you. For everything. You really helped me out.”

“I didn’t do anything special,” Tony said feeling pleased at the recognition but uncomfortable with it at the same time.

“It is to me and,” Barnes said, pausing as if carefully choosing his next words. “If we’re gonna be friends, I can’t be your charity project too. Can you give me a list of all the services you paid for?”

“You’re not a charity project just because I want to share, and you’re not under any obliga-,” and Tony stalled seeing the dark look, worthy of the Winter Soldier, that Barnes was giving him. “Fine,” he said with a huff and eyeroll. “I’ll send you the details.”

Barnes hummed in acknowledgment, the corners of his lips tipping up in amusement as he leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes again. “Damn good cigar by the way. Was worth the wait.”

Later, Tony directed himself to the guestroom only to find that Barnes had been using it rather than the master.

“Wasn’t going to take your room,” he said, coming up the stairs behind him and seeing Tony’s hesitation.

“I never come here though.”

“You’re here now,” he pointed out. “Maybe you’ll come visit more. I need to have someone to practice my cooking on,” Barnes said, breaking into a grin that did remind Tony of the history books.

He found he liked the idea of visiting, quite a bit, especially now that he had a reason to.


End file.
